Ahmedabad, Oct 15 (PTI) Both the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress on Tuesday expressed confidence of winning the bypoll to Vav assembly seat in Gujarat.
The Election Commission earlier in the day announced that the by-election will be held on November 13 while counting of votes will take place on November 23.
The seat fell vacant after sitting Congress MLA Geniben Thakor resigned in June after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Banaskantha.
Vav has been a Congress stronghold with Thakor winning from there in 2017 and 2022.
In a video message, Thakor said just like the previous polls, people from all communities will ensure Congress’ victory in the bypoll too.
“Voters of all communities gave their blessings to Congress in 2017, 2022 and in the Lok Sabha polls. Our workers always remained in contact with the people of Vav. All of us party workers will work together to ensure victory of the Congress candidate,” she said.
The BJP’s Banaskantha district president Kirtisinh Vaghela said he was confident that the saffron party will certainly win this time.
Thakor, a two-time MLA, defeated BJP candidate Rekhaben Chaudhary, who was fighting her first election, from the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat by a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
She was the only Congress candidate to win in Gujarat.
In 2017, Thakor emerged as a giant killer when she defeated senior BJP leader and current assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary, who was then a state minister, from Vav assembly seat.
The Visavadar assembly seat in Gujarat’s Junagadh district is also vacant since the sitting AAP MLA Bhupendra aka Bhupat Bhayani resigned and joined the BJP.
But as petitions challenging Bhayani’s election are still pending before the Gujarat High Court, bypoll to the constituency was not announced.
Congress’ strength in the 182-seat assembly is 12. The ruling BJP has 161 MLAs. There are four legislators of the AAP, one of the Samajwadi Party and two independents. PTI PJT PD KRK
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